This is our annual week before Xmas trip to Vegas. We go every year at this time because since it is so slow, everything is cheaper and there are no lines for anything. We wanted to try somewhere different on this trip so we choose the Golden Nugget as we have never stayed downtown together and I have only stayed there once and only for 1 night. A few weeks prior to the trip, I got in touch with Wanda Young, one of their highly recommended hosts, and she set us up with a 2 room suite on casino rate and promised to see what else she could do for us at check out. We do not subscribe to the widely held belief that a room in Vegas "is only for sleeping in!" We like to enjoy a nice room when we are on vacation.
December 18
We hit the road from OC at a little after 11AM and got through the inland empire without any problems. After stopping in Barstow for some McDs, we were making great time until bumper to bumper traffic from the 215 all the way through downtown. We finally pulled into the Golden Nugget valet at 3:30. There was no line at the check in desk and we were up to our room in no time. We were given a room in the North tower, 17th floor, facing the Fremont Street Experience. The room was very nice, though not quite as nice as the suite we had at Bellagio last year but still it was impressive. The living room was rather large with a sofa, wet bar, table and chairs and a TV armoire. There was also a full bath off the living room. The bedroom was a slightly smaller room, also with a full bath and a tub with Jacuzzi jets. We settled in, unpacked and just relaxed in the living room for a little while. We then went downstairs, stopped at the Snack Bar for a piece of pizza, which was mediocre, then bought a 50 game Keno ticket. Afterwards we wandered around a bit, checking out the GN and some of the kiosks out on Fremont Street. We then went back to the room to get ready for dinner.
We had reservations at Binion's Ranch Steakhouse. It was nice to only have to walk across the street for dinner. We were promptly seated at a window table as soon as we arrived. Since it is on the top floor of the hotel, the view of very nice. Lisa ordered the bleu cheese NY steak and I had the filet mignon. Both were prepared perfectly and were excellent. The prices are reasonable, in the $25-35 area, and come complete with salad, potato and vegetables and the service was pretty good. I wouldn't say it would be my first choice the next time I am getting a steak in Vegas but we certainly were not disappointed at all. After dinner, we had a few drinks at the casino bar in the GN the went to play our first round of VP. Lisa isn't the biggest VP fan in the world but she knows her strategy pretty well so we decided to both play some 8/5 Bonus triple play. We got some decent play off our initial buy in but after about an hour, Lisa busted out and decided to call it a night. I continued to play and was soon dealt 4 queens. With the nice payout, I decide to switch to 5 play. The machine I was on had a glare issue and you had to move your head around to see the results of all your hands. I wasn't particularly happy about it but I thought this was the only bank of these machines. About 15 minutes after switching to 5 play, I'm dealt 3 to a Royal. I hold them and hit deal. I noticed on the 5th hand, I had gotten the 4th but not the 5th. I said to myself "Figures..." I then moved my head and noticed I had hit the Royal on the 4th hand! It was the most delayed Royal celebration ever! I played a little longer and cashed out my Royal and called it a night, not knowing that it would be all downhill from there!
December 19
I woke up early as usual and went downstairs for my ritual of coffee and VP. I tried the other machines in the same bank hoping for a better glare situation but to no avail. I started off pretty strong but it quickly turned south. Since I hit the Royal the previous night, I stuck around longer than I normally would on a bad session and paid for it. I headed back up to the room with my tail between my legs and woke up Lisa.
We then went down to the Carson St. Cafe for breakfast. This place has one of the most amazing menus I have ever seen, it is literally 20 pages thick! The food was served blazingly fast and was excellent. When I had stayed at the GN the one time previously, we had service issues here but not on this trip. The waiter was "Johnny on the Spot" with everything. We would definitely be eating there again. After getting thoroughly stuffed at the Carson St, we waddled back to the room. It took a while, but we eventually got ready for the day. After cashing in our Keno ticket for a whopping $17, we started out by doing some Xmas shopping. We hit a few of the kiosks on Fremont St and made our way to Kaleidoscope, which does have a few cool stores in it. We picked up a few things for some people as well as a few gifts for ourselves, quite a productive trip. We dropped the stuff off back at the room then went down to the casino. In our journey to find Lisa a Keno machine, I noticed another bank of 3/5 play VP machines and they were glare free, woo hoo! I proceeded to have another disastrous VP session while Lisa has a bit of luck playing Keno. After about an hour and half of abuse, Lisa pulled me away assuring me that the machine would still be there later!
We headed over to the Binion's snack bar for a quick bite and then back to the room to bundle up for the Opportunity Village Christmas display. It was a bit chilly in the evening but it was perfect weather for the display. I had heard great things about it in the past but hadn't had a chance to make it out there. It definitely was worth the trip. It was like walking through a forest of never ending Christmas scenes, all setup by local businesses. The place was packed too. Its great to see a charity effort bring in that kind of a response. With a cup of hot chocolate, it definitely put you in the spirit of the season.
After the display, we went over to the Rio for our required trip to the Carnival World buffet. Much to our dismay, it was completely under construction. It was open but less than half of it. We decided we weren't going to waste a comp on a half open buffet so we went back to the GN. Unfortunately, the GN has seafood night at their buffet on Friday and since neither one of eats any seafood at all, we didn't see the point of paying extra for it. We decided to just go back to the Carson St. Cafe and have one of the 3000 thing on the menu. I had the open faced turkey sandwich while Lisa had a giant club sandwich and both were fantastic. We can't say enough about this place! After dinner, we went across the street to the Fremont to play some Roulette. We both settled in at a 50 cent table and Lisa began to just light it up. This is her game. She was hit 4 number blocks then 3 number blocks and by the end of the night, she was hitting single numbers with multiple chips on them. Some of her good luck was even rubbing off on me as I was holding my own. After about 3 hours, we finally cashed out. I was even and she was up well over $200.
December 20
I woke up early for some coffee and losing VP while Lisa slept in. It wasn't the worst session ever but yet another steady loser. They only bright side I did get a good amount of play in for the day and it was still early. I went back to the room but since Lisa was still asleep, I settled in to watch some football. Lisa finally awoke and it was already lunchtime, so we walked down to Kaleidoscope again and went to La Salsa.
After lunch, we went back to the GN and played for a little while then hung out in the room until it was time to go down to the Monte Carlo for the LVA meet. It was a great turn out. There were about 15 or so who made it and it was great to meet everyone. Pictures will be posted shortly. I wish I had gotten some more. Lisa and I left a bit early because the Jets were kicking off at 5:30. We quickly got back downtown without missing much of what would become an ugly Jets loss. After Chad Pennington's 5th interception, we left for the Main Street Station buffet. Getting there at 8:30, there wasn't much of a line. They have a great selection of items but maybe it was because it was late, it just wasn't as good as I remember it being the last time I was there.
After dinner, we went back to the Fremont to play some more Roulette. There weren't any open seats so we walked across to the 4 Queens and played there for a while. The Roulette gods weren't quite as kind to Lisa this evening as the last but we played for quite a while on our original buy in. Back to the GN to have another crack at VP with no real luck. We finished up the day by picking up a few sports bets for football the next day, including Lisa's very first sports bet.
December 21
Once again, I woke for coffee and VP and once again luck was not mine to be had. Knowing I was leaving today, I was a little loose with the wallet and this thing took me for all I was worth! Oh well, its called "discretionary income" for a reason, I just should have used more discretion! Afterwards, I went to the slot club desk to see about a late check out since Wanda wouldn't be in until 4PM, they told me the best they could do was 2. I took it and went back to the room. I called the hosts office and spoke with another host, after explaining that Wanda wouldn't be in until 4, she gave a 6PM check out with no problem. After getting Lisa awake and conscious, we went down to Luxor to go to Nathan's for lunch. This is yet another place that we always hit on every trip to Vegas since we can't get them in Orange County. We then checked out "Mandalay Place," the small mall that connects Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Much of it is still empty and the stores that are open look exactly the same as the one that previously existed in Mandalay Bay. I guess the jury is still out on this place. We then wandered around MB for a little while. I had been there when it first opened and wasn't all that excited about it but I was more impressed this time around. We will have to try staying there once in the summer months.
We went back to the GN and watched some football as we both lose our bets. At 4PM, I finally met Wanda, who is an extremely nice person. She reviewed our account, took care of a billing problem and proceeded to comp the last 2 nights (the first was already paid for) and our food charges. We essentially were left with some phone charges. We were very impressed considering I didn't play as much as I normally do with the bad luck I had but she still took care of us. We packed up the room and were on our way by 5:30PM. We stopped at In-N-Out in Barstow and since there was absolutely no traffic the whole way, we were sitting on our couch by 9:30PM.
Some Random Musings...
Our first stay Downtown was quite different. It was nice to have a variety of casinos that close to each other but we missed having all the amenities of the strip. The GN is by far the nicest place downtown and with the treatment we received from Wanda Young, we will definitely stay there again. There were a few problems with the room at the GN. The doors slam with a vengeance so everyone on the floor know when someone else leaves. The walls were a bit thin as you could easily hear conversations going on in the hallway. Perhaps we will try the South Tower next time. Aside from that, it was a great stay. It is always great to get to a LVA meet. There something special about a group of fellow Vegas degenerates gathering in the same room! The countdown is now on for the next trip!
